Dragon Ballis home to some of the most iconic heroes in anime and manga history. Aside from the instantly recognizable Goku, the series boasts characters like Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks, and Piccolo,who have all had their share of unforgettable moments after marching into battle. Gohan, in particular, even enjoyed some time in the role of protagonist, while Vegeta has become an ever-increasingly vital presence during the events ofDragon Ball.
However, these super-powered warriors born with an instinct for fighting aren’t the only heroes the series has to offer. In its earliest days, before the arrival of vicious warriors from outer space or the first glimpse of that iconic golden glow,humans ran the show inDragon Ball. Immensely important characters like Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien once offered as much a challenge in battle as any of the series' top Saiyans, and though focus has shifted away from these fighters,they still deserve recognition for their most heroic feats.
7Yamcha Fought on Equal Ground With Goku
The Often Disrespected Character Did Some Damage to Goku
Long before Goku was an indestructible fighting machine, the mysterious, tailed boy from the mountains was still actually incredibly powerful. His very first appearance inDragon Ballinvolves him being hit by Bulma’s car, getting up and trying to fight the car, then being shot several times by Bulma, before getting up once more and complaining that it hurt. Even as a pudgy child,he was relatively overpowered in just about every sense, which makes Yamcha’s first battle against him so impressive.
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As strange as it may sound today, when the desert bandit arrived in the series, he and Goku were rivals, and their first confrontation burst into sudden combat when Yamcha tried to rob Goku, Bulma, and Oolong. Shockingly, Yamcha pulled out a Wolf Fang Fist combo attack and sent Goku flying. Goku later responded with a “Rock, Paper, Scissors” attack which hit Yamcha so hard he broke the actual panel of manga the action was taking place in. Of course, Goku was weakened by his hunger during the fight,but that doesn’t make Yamcha’s ability to hang in there any less impressive.
6Tien Defeated Goku in the World Martial Arts Tournament
One of Earth’s Strongest Humans Handed Goku His Second Tournament Defeat
It may come as a surprise to many, considering just how often tournaments have taken place inDragon Ball,that Goku has a pretty terrible record in fighting competitions. His one and only victory came against Piccolo on his third try, and the series' leading Saiyan never won a tournament again following that. His first defeat came at the hands of Master Roshi, who, disguised as Jackie Chun, defeated Goku to keep the boy humble and aware that someone stronger will always come along.
Goku’s second defeat came at the hands of Tien, who wasn’t quite as strong as his opponent,but was able to outmatch him with a bit of strategy and luck. The child Saiyan was considerably stronger during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament than he was when he lost to Roshi, making Tien’s victory all the more impressive.Creator Akira Toriyama once revealed in an interviewthat he deliberately went against the wishes of his readers, and made sure to have Goku lose not once, but twice, before being able to walk away victorious from a tournament.
5Krillin Took His Revenge On the Saibamen
Enraged By His Friend’s Death, Krillin Makes Light Work of the Saibamen
By the time the Saiyan Saga rolled around,Dragon Ball’s heroes had achieved such unthinkable levels of strength thatthose with human blood began falling behind. This is most evident in Yamcha being quickly killed by a Saibaman that latched onto him and self-destructed. However, the moment that directly follows includes one of the more cathartic instances of one ofDragon Ball’s human fighters doing some serious damage.
Enraged by the death of his comrade, Krillin charged an impressive Ki blast attack aimed at the remaining small green terrors,instantly eviscerating three of them, while Piccolo quickly dispatched the last. The Saibamen weren’t particularly threatening, even at such an early point inDragon Ball’s second half, though Krillin’s boiled-over rage made for a rare moment in whichthe series' strongest Earthlingwas able to quickly and effectively take out the opposition.
4Hercule Saved the Day During the Buu Saga
The Champ Used His Fame to Convince the People of Earth to Lend Their Energy to Goku
Sometimes,Dragon Ball’s fighters don’t have to actually do any fighting to steal the spotlight. Hercule’s presence in the series is more akin to a running gag than anything else, though the official champion of the Cell Gameshelped the cast towards victory on numerous occasions. First, by throwing Android #16’s disembodied head during the Cell Games, he hand-delivered the catalyst to Gohan’s Super Saiyan 2 transformation. More importantly, however, he used his fame to assist in creating the Spirit Bomb that defeated Kid Buu.
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Goku, needing more energy than he was able to draw out, was in desperate need of help while charging one of his most iconic attacks. Thanks to Hercule, that energy was delivered, as the champion of the world addressed all his fans and the general public,instructing them to raise their hands to the sky and give Goku their energy. The extra power helped to grow the Spirit Bomb enough to finally have the strength to take out what was the most destructive villain the series had seen to that point. The moment isn’t any less impressive just because fighting wasn’t involved.
3Yajirobe Helped Earth’s Heroes Regain the Upper Ground Against Vegeta
Dragon Ball’s Unlikeliest Hero Made His Presence Known With a Single Slice
EvenDragon Ball’s Earth-bred fighters are iconic, though there is one thatno one could have predicted would be helpful in battle. Yajirobe has never done much fighting throughout the series, and his inclusion inDragon Ball Super’s Goku Black arc is simply a humorous moment that prompts the viewer to question how the guy could have ever survived. Regardless, the unexpected hero played one of the most crucial roles during the series' Saiyan Saga,when he cut Vegeta’s tail off mid-fight, returning him to normal from his Giant Ape form.
He wasn’t the first character to try doing so, either. Earlier in the battle, Krillin sent a Destructo Disk aimed directly at the Saiyan’s tail, but Vegeta was able to sense Krillin’s power behind him and quickly jumped out of the way. However, because Yajirobe’s battle power was so minuscule, his presence went entirely undetected by the villainous Vegeta, and he was able to sneak in for one major slice before running away in fear.Without his courageous move, Goku and the rest of the Earth would have been in big trouble.
2Krillin Defeated Two Fighters in the Tournament of Power
Krillin Shined Long After the Rest of Dragon Ball’s Fighters Left Him Behind
By the timeDragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power rolled along, the series' main group of Saiyans had long left the human fighters in the dust. Power levels became too large to even try to count several arcs before the 2015 anime came to a close, and any character who wasn’t naturally born to be a fighter just could not keep up with the events of the story. Nevertheless, Krillin rejoined the main cast for the Tournament of Power,and not only held his own, but was able to eliminate two fighters in the process.
In a collaborative effort with Android #18, the husband-and-wife duo were able to combine their strength and eliminate Universe 4’s Shosa. On his own, Krillin matched up against Majora, also from Universe 4, who was an impressive warrior in his own right, using his lack of eyesight to his advantage by relying on his other advanced senses. One of those, Krillin noticed, was his sense of smell, which Earth’s strongest human targeted by throwing his odorous shoe at Majora, before knocking him out of the ring with a Kamehameha.It wasn’t a pretty win, but an important one.
1Tien Held Back Second Form Cell On His Own
As Dragon Ball’s Humans Faded to the Background, Tien Made a Final Stand
FollowingDragon Ball’s Planet Namek Saga and the introduction of the Super Saiyan transformation, the series' human fighters had all but lost their relevance, and when the fearsome Androids appeared to kick off the Cell Saga, there was little any of them could do to assist in battle. Much later, however, after Cell absorbed and gained the combined strengths of Androids #17 and #18, Tien was able to hold the monster back withone final hurrah forDragon Ball’s non-Saiyan fighters.
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Firing off Neo-Tri-Beam attacks in rapid succession, Semi-Perfect Cell, who waswell beyond any fighter Tien had ever faced before, was not only pinned down but actually hurt by the barrage. It had already been some time since any human was able to actually damage a villain, and Tien’s final stand made for one of the most impressive feats of strength in all ofDragon Ball.
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
